People in the News

Not only was Colin Farrell one of the few nonfamily members who attended Elizabeth Taylor's funeral last week, but he also

Tribute to a friend

Not only was Colin Farrell one of the few nonfamily members who attended Elizabeth Taylor's funeral last week, but he also

recited a poem during the service. The 34-year-old actor explained his unlikely friendship with the actress to Access Hollywood: "How did we become friends? You know the old story of boy meets girl and boy pesters girl with too many phone calls at inappropriate hours of the night," Farrell said. "I was just lucky enough to become her friend in the last year and a half." The admiration was mutual, as Taylor had mentioned him in an interview with Kim Kardashian for the March issue of Harper's Bazaar. "I love Johnny Depp, and I love Colin Farrell - both brilliant, nuanced actors with great range," Taylor said. Farrell was asked to read the poem The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo at the funeral in Los Angeles - a request made by the actress that was passed along to him after her death March 23. "Elizabeth chose it. It was a tricky poem as well," the Irish actor said. "Even in passing, she had me under the thumb, sweating bricks. I just miss her."

Duck, Donald: Oprah wants you!

Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey wants to end her long-running show by getting her hands on Donald Trump's hair, the New York Post reported yesterday. Winfrey apparently reached out to the combed-over entrepreneur - and a series of other big names - with offers to appear for a makeover by top stylists during one of the last installments of The Oprah Winfrey Show in May. According to sources, the email invitation to Trump's office said, "The eyes of the world will be upon these episodes." Sources said the production team promised to let the real-estate mogul talk about his potential presidential bid during the show. The producers also vowed to treat Trump's makeover with "integrity" and "not let it become a joke or silly." Trump could not be reached for comment.

Other eye-openers

• Prosecutors say they won't pursue a battery case against Lindsay Lohan in connection with a December scuffle with a rehab worker. Riverside County district attorney's spokesman John Hall said prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to pursue a misdemeanor battery case against the actress. A worker at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, Calif., accused Lohan of hitting her after the incident.

• Just call him professor James Franco. The newest gig for the 32-year-old actor and recent Academy Awards host will be as an instructor in the fall at the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at New York University. "He will be teaching a section of a third-year directing class in the graduate film division," an NYU spokesman told E! Online. Franco is also working on a doctorate in English at Yale University.

• Although Will Ferrell has recently hinted that he will replace star Steve Carell on the NBC comedy The Office, the producer of the show said Ferrell's comments were misconstrued. "Will was joking," Paul Lieberstein, who also plays Toby on the series, told

NYMag.com. Ferrell will begin a four-episode arc April 14 as a temporary branch manager.